Still fighting on three fronts, The Tons are back in cup action this weekend as we head west to Feltham for the second round of the Jim Rogers Cup.

Whereas the first round was effectively staged in a park, away at South Kilburn Reserves, this fixture will be at the Bedfont Sports Club, an Isthmian League ground. 

After the Japanese side London Samurai, then the Irish club FC Roast, Clapton CFC’s world tour of London continues with FC Deportivo Galicia.

No prizes for guessing the Iberian heritage of our opponents, who have their roots in the decades-old Galician community in West London.

During the Franco regime, many families left in the hope of a better future. In 1968, a group of these migrants saw an opportunity through football to join together and share the longing they felt for their homeland.

Fifty years later the club have risen from Sunday league football through the Middlesex County Football League ranks and into the Combined Counties League Division.

They also have their own smart-looking shirt, which even has made it onto a Subbuteo figure.

The reserves, founded as part of ambitious growth plans in 2013, are the ones who will be facing Clapton CFC this weekend at the Bedfont Recreation ground, home of Bedfont Sports FC.

The reserves have made a solid start in the Middlesex County Football League Division One West, the same level as CCFC, with two wins from four league games plus two cup victories.

The Tons, however, will be coming into the game feeling confident themselves after a hard fought 2-0 cup victory under rainy skies away at Letchworth Garden City Eagles last week.

Where most of our games have been high-scoring affairs, on this occasion the defensive line kept a first ever competitive clean sheet, showing we have what it takes to dig in during tight matches.

Player coach Geoff Ocran reflected that: “It was one of those victories where you look back and think lady luck was definitely with us.

“On the balance of play and chances they will feel hard done by, but we dug in with a mixture of great defending, match winning saves from Dan Anfossy and a sublime finish from Sherwin Stanley.

“Winning breeds confidence as it’s an acquired habit so we will be looking to progress in this competition as all the teams are in a similar step in the pyramid to us.”

A degree of luck is likely to be required again on Saturday. Ocran said: “From word of mouth, Galacia apparently like to make it a battle, so we will adapt accordingly during the game and hopefully our quality comes through.”

CCFC will also be looking to employ some good old fashioned Spanish style Tiki Taka. “As the game is being played on a 4G pitch, it definitely suits our passing style of play.”

In terms of the squad, some less familiar faces are likely to come in, with Ocran saying: “We may rotate slightly this weekend as I feel the roll on roll off subs option in this tournament does give us more scope to give more players the opportunity to play.

“We do have strength in depth and expect the side we put out to be professional and carry on the winning run.”

The lunchtime kick off also means that Tons fans will be in a rare situation of having to find something to do come 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.

As for the squad, Ocran said: “Depending on the traffic back from Heathrow and result, we may have a late team lunch closer to home.”

FC Deportivo Galicia vs Clapton CFC is on Saturday, November 17th at 12.15pm, at Bedfont Recreation Ground, Hatton Road, Feltham TW14 8JA. Admission is £2/£1 concessions. Join the Facebook event here.

* This article takes extracts from this article charting Deportivo Galicia’s fascinating history  (Also available in Spanish)